You see - if you haven't been following my blogs this fall, - I am a book about an inspiring, fun-loving, walking miracle. Dionne Warner is a seven-time cancer survivor in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, who dresses in costume and dances into her chemotherapy treatments with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Alongside her is her wingman - her equally fun-loving husband Graham - who is also dressed in costume to support his beloved Dionne and help her bring hope and laughter to everyone she meets on the journey.
This is Dionne and Graham Warner during two of the 78 costumed 'themes' they'd had by the time I was written and published in summer 2012:
But enough about them for now. This is about me. And Prague, Czech Republic.
My author/publisher Deana Driver and her publisher/husband Al Driver travelled to Europe this summer and took me along for the journey of a lifetime. I've been blogging about our travels (see my first blog in the series), and we've visited eight countries to this point: Austria, Italy, France, Monaco, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany - not necessarily in that order. Well, Vatican City might be considered a country, too - so make that nine.
And here we are, in Prague, Czech Republic - a city resplendent with beautiful old buildings, incredible bridges over the Vltava River, and culture that just oozes from every corner.
The hotel we stayed in was built in 1895 - see the date in the floor tiles at the bottom of the stairs. The country of Canada - where I live - was founded in 1867, just a few short years before that. Wow. We could just feel the history that these walls must have seen.
We smiled when we noticed the name of this place – Typical Czech
Restaurant.
I wonder what all the other restaurants in Prague are like if this
one is typical.
We saw this bridal shop on our way downtown...
...so that reminded me of this little ditty:
"Something Old...
...Something New...
...Something Boar-owed (hee hee)...
...Something....
Pink...?"
Sure, why not? I LOVE PINK!
Everybody loves pink!
Moving on....
In Prague, we saw a likeness of Hermes . I love his winged headgear.
The downtown market had fruit and vegetables for sale, as well as a new treat we'd never seen before -
... a long strip of pastry dough that was wrapped around a spindle and baked over coals, then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.
This Czech-style doughnut was very yummy!
My author and Publisher Al also tasted wild boar sausage in the
Prague marketplace.
“Tastes like pork, except more free-range,” quipped my author. (She thinks she’s funny.)
This man was working with his loom in the marketplace.
This woman was making glass jewelry.
The Rudolfinum in Prague was designed as an art gallery and housed the Czechoslovak Parliament in 1918-1938. It was showcasing the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra the day we were there. I loved the winged creatures on and around the building.
Now this is not a girly-girl statue.
It reminded me of one
of my cancer survivor’s favourite new songs by Katy Perry – ‘Roar’. I am sure
that if this statue could make noise, it would definitely ROAR!
You go, girl!
Oh, and this man. Oh my.
He reminded me of the strong, handsome man I met in Barcelona. Ooh, I get shivers just thinking of him again. Sigh…
The 600-year-old Charles Bridge is the most famous of Prague's bridges. It has 16 arches and is adorned with 30 stone statues along its edges.
Before we crossed the bridge, we met this young lady.
She was inviting passersby to go on a river cruise - on a boat called 'Regina'!
How cool was that? I was pleased when she offered to hold me for this photo.
On our way up to the Prague Castle, we saw this couple getting their feet cleaned by fish in a tank in an Asian shop.
It kind of creeped me out actually - but they said it tickled.
This woman was painstakingly hand-painting the lines on a
huge door to one of the homes/businesses we saw on our way up to the castle.
The castle has several magnificent buildings on its grounds, including St. Vitus Cathedral. We were intrigued by many of them, but we had to giggle when we stopped for a sit-down break and saw this...
This young man’s private parts are definitely not private. In
fact, every third person who passes by this statue in a courtyard at the Prague Castle stops to
grab hold of his protruding part – to the point (ooh, sorry for the bad double
entendre) that it has become quite the shiny bronze part compared to the rest of his
tarnished body. We had to smile watching the various reactions of
passersby – everything from shocked to disgusted to hilariously gripping the part and posing for photographs. People-watching
is always fascinating.
The view from the Prague Castle is really something to behold. Although this guard did a good job of pretending he didn't care so much about anything around him, my publishers enjoyed the view.
Holy Heels, Ladies! These Czechoslovakian woman walked downtown for
at least 20 blocks in front of us on Prague's cobblestone streets and sidewalks – in
these shoes! I was impressed.
We also saw what might be the oldest busker in Europe. He couldn't sing very well, but he sure could play.
Don’t ask me what a life-sized shark is doing in the middle of downtown
Prague. 'Freaking people out' would be my guess.
We saw this fellow, hanging from a harness and using a sander to polish the copper on these balconies. He yelled at passersby to stay out from underneath him as the corroded bits fell to the sidewalk below him.
Well, that's enough from Prague for now.
So from my author, her solid friend, and me -
Thanks for taking in the scenery with us. I'll see you again soon.
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